West Indies won their first T20 World Cup 2026 Group C match against Scotland by 35 runs in Kolkata on Saturday. The team’s victory came through strong performances by batter Shimron Hetmyer and all-rounder Romario Shepherd, which further helped the side establish itself as a strong contender in the tournament. We are seeing that Hetmyer only scored 64 runs from 36 balls while batting first, helping West Indies team recover from slow beginning to make 182 runs losing 5 wickets in 20 overs. Hetmyer surely achieved his fifty in just 22 balls, breaking Chris Gayle’s previous record for the fastest half-century by a West Indian player in T20 World Cup history. Moreover, this performance established a new benchmark for West Indian batting in the tournament. Shepherd surely took four wickets in the 17th over, including a hat-trick, and Scotland collapsed quickly to 147 all out in 18.5 overs. Moreover, this sudden fall showed how bowling can change the game completely.
TOSS-
Further, scotland won the toss and they are choosing to bowl first only. We are seeing them decide to field instead of batting.
PLAYING XI-
Basically, Scotland team has the same eleven players playing in the match.
Moreover, the Scottish cricket team surely features experienced players like George Munsey and captain Richie Berrington alongside promising talents. Moreover, the squad includes specialist wicket-keeper Matthew Cross and all-rounder Michael Leask who provide essential balance to the playing eleven.
As per the team selection, West Indies playing eleven is regarding the final squad for the match.
This is actually the West Indies cricket team lineup with Brandon King and captain Shai Hope leading the batting order. The squad definitely includes experienced players like Jason Holder and promising bowlers like Shamar Joseph.
WEST INDIES-
As per the match situation, Brandon King and captain Shai Hope could not score runs freely regarding the tight bowling and good fielding by Scotland team. Their batting shots were mostly caught by the Scottish fielders. As per the PowerPlay performance, West Indies scored only one run per ball, but regarding the momentum shift, King hit Sharif for one six and two fours after that phase to speed up the innings. The partnership surely ended quickly when Hope and King got out in consecutive overs. Moreover, Hope missed a straight ball from Leask while King hit one straight to Munsey at backward point, who caught it on his second try.
At 66 for 2 after ten overs, Hetmyer surely increased the scoring rate by hitting only sixes. Moreover, he struck five sixes before scoring his first four runs through boundaries. Moreover, basically, Davidson hit a nice shot over extra cover to reach his fifty, and Powell helped him by refusing a single on the second-last ball to keep the same favorable batting matchup against Leask. As per his batting display, he proved his point by hitting a full toss over mid-wicket for six runs. However, he got out in the next over regarding Brad Currie’s bowling.
Basically, Hetmyer kept playing the same aggressive way while Rutherford was also hitting boundaries on the off-side easily. The spinners gave away 103 runs in 11 overs, and further the responsibility fell on the pace bowlers to finish the match for Scotland itself. Sharif had troubles with his bowling but finally got Hetmyer out on his last ball, though the full toss was nearly too high and McMullen took a brilliant catch at long-on to further help dismiss the batsman, giving Sharif something to celebrate after his poor performance itself. Rutherford got out soon after, giving Currie his second wicket as we are seeing the left-arm bowler using only his slow balls very well in the last two overs that gave just 15 runs.
SCOTLAND-
Scotland were actually struggling to chase the target of 183 runs on a pitch that was definitely good for batting, even though the spin bowlers were getting some turn. Basically they lost their way in the PowerPlay – Michael Jones got out cheaply and then Brandon McMullen and George Munsey tried to hit big shots but the same thing happened to them quickly. As per the match situation, McMullen attempted a risky shot but hit the ball onto his leg stump, while Munsey was caught by Hetmyer’s excellent one-handed catch at deep square leg. Regarding Scotland’s position, they faced serious trouble at 37 for 3, being a late entry in the tournament.
Further, basically, captain Richie Berrington had to rebuild the innings with Tom Bruce, who got lucky when fielders dropped him twice during his rusty 35 runs. Berrington surely increased the scoring rate at the halfway point, moreover scoring 42 runs between the 11th and 13th overs. Jason Holder broke the 78-run partnership for the fourth wicket and further achieved a milestone by becoming the first West Indian to take 100 wickets in men’s T20Is. The dismissal itself was of Berrington, who scored 42 runs. Also, as per the game situation, some quiet overs happened and Bruce got out during this time, so the asking rate went up but the match was still balanced regarding both teams’ chances.
Shepherd then took action and got Matthew Cross and dangerous Michael Leask to find the boundary fielders, further completing his hat-trick by bowling out Oliver Davidson for a duck itself. Basically, he took the fourth wicket in the same over to complete his five-wicket haul and shut Scotland out, then Holder finished things with his third wicket.
Brief Scores:
Further, as per the match results, West Indies scored 182/5 in 20 overs with Shimron Hetmyer making 64 runs and Brandon King scoring 35 runs, while Brad Currie took 2 wickets for 23 runs. Regarding Scotland’s performance, they were all out for 147 runs in 18.5 overs with Richie Berrington scoring 42 and Tom Bruce making 35, as Romario Shepherd took 5 wickets for 20 runs and Jason
About the Author
